1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to supports for eaves troughs. More particularly to a one-piece molded bracket that supports a leaf shedding gutter and attaches the gutter to a wall.
The bracket references from the floor of the trough and holds a screw or nail fastener aligned with the front opening of the gutter for driving with a screw driver or impact tool accessing the fastener through the front opening of the gutter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is replete with patented designs for gutter support system brackets.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,570 patented Oct. 2, 1979 by F. Morin, describes an eaves trough bracket. A horizontal plate that is narrow and upturned at the front into a backward facing edge for engaging a lip on the front of the trough, is angled upward at the back in the form of a wider plate. A downward angled tube extends backward from the plate and terminates in a vertical cover plate. A nail extending through the downward angled tube and vertical cover plate is driven into the building.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,422 patented Oct. 13, 1981 by W. Odekirk, describes a horizontal strip that is upturned at the front into a backward facing edge for engaging a lip on the front of the trough, extends backward in an upstanding M shape and in an open-downward upstanding U hook spaced from the M. The vertical back wall of the trough extends upward into the hook. A nail extends through holes in the legs of the M so that the downward apex of the M is supported by the side of the nail, the nail continues through both legs of the U and back wall of the trough between them, and into the wall of the building.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,649 patented Jul. 19, 1988 by W. Vahldieck, describes a rigid tubular spacer that extends horizontally forward from the vertical back wall of a leaf repellant gutter, over the upwardly open trough of the gutter, into the most forward portion of the concave longitudinal recess of the front of the leaf rejecting roof of the gutter. A nail passes through the front of the roof, through the tube, through the back wall of the gutter and into the wall of the building.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,191 patented Apr. 2, 1991 by D. Corry, describes a straight strip that is upturned at the front into a backward facing edge for engaging a lip on the front of the trough. The back end of the strip angles upward and terminates in a C having a short lower leg so that when the upper leg of the C receives the top of the vertical back wall of the trough and the lower leg abuts against the back wall of the trough, and a screw extends through the angled back end at the center of the C, through the back wall of the trough contained in the C, and into the wall of the building, and is tightened, the back end holds the strip horizontal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,377 patented Feb. 14, 1995 by C. Faulkner, describes a straight strip that is upturned at the front into a backward facing edge for engaging a lip on the front of the trough. The back end of the strip is bent back into a right triangle having a hole through the hypotenuse and another hole through the vertical back of the triangle so that when a screw extends through the hypotenuse, vertical back, into the vertical wall of the building and is tightened, the triangle holds the strip horizontal to the wall of the building.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,118 patented Nov. 19, 1996 by W. Vahldieck, describes a C-shaped sheet metal strip in which one end of the C fits concentrically into the concave longitudinal recess formed by the downward and backward turned edge of the front of the leaf rejecting roof of the gutter, and the other end of the C fits concentrically into the concave longitudinal recess formed by the downward and backward turned edge of the vertical front wall of the trough of the leaf rejecting gutter. A second strip extends vertically upward from the back wall of the C to the upper underside of the roof of the gutter. A third strip extends downward and backward to the back wall of the trough of the gutter where it is fastened to the back wall of the trough by a first fastener that passes through the back wall to the wall of the building. A second fastener through a fold in the back wall of the gutter attaches the back of the g;utter and back of its roof to the building wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,533 patented Mar. 9, 1999 by E. Swanfeld Jr., describes an inverted L-shaped strip, the vertical wall of which rests on the floor of the trough of the gutter of the leaf rejecting trough and is fastened to the wall of the building by a screw through the vertical wall into the building. The horizontal wall of the L has a bisecting vertical plate that contacts the underside of the leaf rejecting roof where it supports a transverse heating element, and continues along a line that extends around the recess formed by the downward and backward turned edge of the front of the leaf rejecting roof of the gutter.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,826 B1 patented Apr. 3, 2001 by J. Pratt, Jr. describes a horizontal strip that is upturned at the front into a backward facing edge for engaging a lip on the front of the trough. The back of the strip is bent into an open-downward upstanding U hook for receiving the vertical back wall of the trough upward into the hook. A pair of upstanding tabs stamped from the strip are spaced in series from the upstanding U hook and are notched at their tops for receiving a nail. The notches position the nail angled downward toward the front leg of the U so that when the nail is struck, the nail continues through both legs of the U and the back wall of the trough between them, and into the wall of the building. As the nail is struck, the head of the nail bends one tab down and catches the other tab as a washer against the forward leg of the U.
It is one object of the invention to provide a leaf repellant gutter bracket that supports a fastener for mounting the bracket in a leaf repellant gutter so that the axis of the fastener extends through the longitudinal slot between the leaf repellant roof of the gutter and the trough of the gutter.
It is another object of the invention that the bracket contacts the bottom wall, the back wall and the front and upper portion of the roof of the gutter so that the bracket is held vertical, against rotation in the gutter, for access to a fastener in the bracket, along an axis that extends through the opening between the roof of the gutter and the front wall of the trough of the gutter, and that the bracket holds and guides the fastener having a length, along the axis that extends through the opening.
It is another object of the invention that the bracket contacts the bottom wall, the back wall and the front of the roof of the gutter for reference for guiding the axis of the fastener through the longitudinal slot between the leaf repellant roof of the gutter and the trough of the gutter.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art from the ensuing description.
For a rain gutter having a roof, a back wall and a trough, wherein the roof extends sloping forward from the back wall of the gutter over the trough of the gutter to the front of the trough spaced above the trough so that the front of the roof forms a longitudinal slot horizontal opening into the gutter along the length of the gutter between the front of the roof and the front of the trough, the front of the roof turning downward and backward forming a concave longitudinal recess, a one-piece bracket includes:
a horizontal bar having a back, and a front extending into the concave side of the recess in contact with the concave side of the recess,
a vertical bar connected to the back of the horizontal bar, contacting the back wall of the gutter and extending to the bottom of the trough,
guide means for a fastener, extending forward of the back wall of the bracket, configured for holding and guiding a fastener having a longitudinal axis so that the longitudinal axis of the fastener extends normal to the back wall of the gutter and through the slot when the vertical bar contacts the bottom of the trough.
A rain gutter support system includes:
a rain gutter comprising a roof, a back wall and an upwardly open trough having a bottom, wherein the roof of the gutter extends forward from the back wall of the gutter over the trough""s upward opening, spaced above the trough so that the front of the roof forms a longitudinal slot horizontal opening into the gutter along a length of the gutter, between the front of the roof and the front of the trough, the front of the roof turning downward and backward forming a concave longitudinal recess, and
a bracket comprising:
a horizontal bar having a back, and a front extending along a first axis into the concave side of the recess, in contact at a first location along the length of the gutter with a first downward facing portion of the roof and in contact with a first upward facing portion of the recess for supporting the concave shape of the recess, and in contact at a second location along the length of the gutter spaced from the first location by a width of said horizontal bar, with a second downward facing portion of the roof and in contact with a second upward facing portion of the recess, and in continuous contact with a third downward facing portion of the roof from the first location to the second location for supporting the horizontal bar against twisting around said first axis,
a vertical bar connected to the back of the horizontal bar, contacting the back wall of the gutter and extending to the bottom of the trough,
a boss extending forward from the vertical bar below and spaced from the horizontal bar, and an opening through the boss extending along the second axis through the vertical bar for supporting and guiding a fastener having a length, along a second axis that extends normal to the back wall of the gutter and through the slot when the fastener is received in the means for supporting, when the vertical bar contacts the bottom of the trough.